MTN Group Eyes 11% Stake Cut in MTN Nigeria After Profit Rebound

MTN Group has announced plans to reduce its stake in MTN Nigeria from 76% to 65% through a public offer, reaffirming its commitment to increase local ownership once the unit returns to profitability.

The group’s president, Ralph Mupita, made the announcement during an editors’ roundtable meeting this week, as reported by South African tech publication ITWeb.

“The only localisation we have as MTN Group is a potential sell-down in Nigeria at some point in time—approximately 11%. This is something we said long ago: that over time we would want more Nigerians owning the company, and we are prepared to sell down to 65%. We are at around 76%,” he stated.

This would be MTN’s second major public offer in Nigeria. In 2021, it sold 575 million shares to local investors, which was oversubscribed, resulting in the allocation of 661.25 million shares. That offer reduced MTN Group’s stake from 78.8% to 75.6%.

More than 126,000 investors participated in the 2021 sale, including large pension funds representing around 6.5 million contributors. At the time, MTN Group had also pledged to eventually reduce its stake to around 65%.

Mupita said the Group would only proceed with the new offering once MTN Nigeria returns to profitability and resumes dividend payments. MTN Nigeria’s shares are currently trading at around $0.16 per share.

Despite reporting $2.23 billion in revenue for 2024—up 36.03% from $1.64 billion in 2023—MTN Nigeria posted a $266 million loss after tax, more than double the $91 million loss recorded in 2023.

The poor performance was attributed to severe economic challenges, including soaring inflation and a sharp devaluation of the naira, which raised costs and eroded investor value. As a result, MTN Nigeria has been overtaken by MTN South Africa as the Group’s largest revenue contributor.

However, MTN is optimistic about a rebound in 2025, citing factors such as recent tariff increases, operational restructuring, and improving economic conditions in Nigeria.

Mupita described the expected recovery as “V-shaped,” with the company banking on structural reforms—such as the removal of fuel subsidies, currency stabilisation, and improved access to foreign exchange—to boost operations and consumer spending.

Click the link Puretvonline.com | WhatsApp Channel to join the whatsapp channel

GOT A STORY?

Contact/WhatsApp: +233243201960 or Email: manuelnkansah33@gmail.com